Chapter Seven

They all crammed themselves in Dr. Lam's office, staring at her expectantly as she read Alora's test results. Landry kept his word and went to Carolyn directly to explain the seriousness of the situation. He ordered her to keep Alora's test results to herself and if need be, alter them to show an ordinary human infant, with the exception of naquadah in her blood resulting from the high concentration her mother had. The doctor hadn't blinked at the request/order and immediately understood what this could mean and how much danger the child could be in if others found out.

The second the results were in, she alerted the others before she even got a chance to read them herself and quickly found herself surrounded by two Generals, SG-1, and the Mal Doran duo. Thankfully, they all waited patiently for her to read the results…for the most part.

"Well?" the two Generals said simultaneously.

Carolyn closed the folder and focused on them. "Alora is definitely exhibiting signs of a higher brain function, according to her scans," she told them, "They're not as advanced as Khalek was, but she is definitely more advanced than your average human."

Landry frowned in concern. "Do we need to be worried about the safety of this base?" he asked his daughter, "Or that she'll attempt anything like Khalek did?"

"I don't believe so," Carolyn replied, "I don't think she has the brain power or strength to do so."

"Can you tell to what extent her abilities might be?" Sam asked, "Or how the knowledge is affecting her overall?"

"Unfortunately, no," Lam reluctantly answered, "but I do agree with Dr. Jackson's assumption that the knowledge won't be able to remain for long in Alora. How long it will take for the knowledge to fade, I don't have an answer for."

"Are any of her powers permanent?" Jack asked, "Can you tell if they'll fade as well?"

Dr. Lam shook her head. "I'm sorry but there's no way to know for certain," she explained, "Dr. Jackson made a good argument. The Ancients had powers in their human forms and Alora is technically half Ancient so it would stand to reason that she might keep her healing ability, but as I've said, there's no way of knowing."

They all took a moment to soak in the information.

"In your professional option, you believe Alora poses a risk to this base or planet in any capacity?" Daniel asked.

Lam didn't hesitate. "No," she stated confidently, "I don't believe she has the intelligence."

"How so?" Landry questioned, "According to Ms. Mal Doran, Dr. Jackson, and even Teal'c, she has shown them images that clearly convey with accuracy what she wants to convey."

"That might be the Ori part of her," Carolyn relented, "but that part of her isn't permanent and it's not enough to cause any alarm. Now if she was talking or something, I would be concerned, but she isn't and if she had the ability to, I believe she would have already done so. The small amount of intelligence she can retain is already draining from her as we speak."

"How can you be certain of that?" Mitchell asked, jumping in.

"I guess I can't at the moment," Carolyn conceded, "but I'm positive if I rerun the brain scans I did today next week that I would find a decrease in her higher function. Alora is turning back into a normal infant and it's only a matter of time before she is, so if she is giving you information, I suggest you take full advantage of it while she is still able to share it."

There was another pause.

"That settles it, I guess," Landry stated and looked at the people in the room, "Alora may remain on Earth and any information she provides to us we'll take seriously. Considering her…unique parentage and abilities as well as the situation with Khalek, I agree with SG-1's assessment that only the people in this room are aware of this."

"Thank you, sir," Vala said quietly, speaking for the first time since entering the doctor's office.

Landry looked at her. "While we may take what intel Alora gives us, we will proceed with caution when following up on it."

Vala nodded. "I understand."

o0o

Vala had been settled in the room she had previously occupied last time she was here and not much seemed to change, aside from her things, which appeared not long after she arrived at her old quarters. Though her time here had been short, it probably was the longest she had ever stayed in one place since before Qetesh and she had collected quite a few things from Earth, not much by a typical person's standards, but by hers, it was more than she had allowed herself to keep in almost a decade.

She had expected the SGC to have thrown it all out after the Supergate incident, especially with the chances of her being dead were high, but here they were, packed up in brown boxes, sitting in the middle of her room. She briefly wondered why they would keep her belongings – she hadn't been a part of the SGC, she wasn't one of them, so why keep it? It was mostly meaningless, nothing that couldn't be replaced, but they had, and the thought made Vala smile. Maybe she wasn't as alone as she thought she was.

Might as well start unpacking some of it.

Vala gently set a sleeping Alora on the bed before she went over to the dresser and pulled a drawer out. There was a small knock on the door. "Come in," she called out as loudly as she dared without waking up the baby.

The door opened and Daniel stepped through, carrying something. "Hey," he greeted gently before frowning and pointed to the drawer she set on the bed. "What're you doing with that?"

She grabbed the throw blanket from the end of the bed and spread it out in the drawer. "I'm worried I'll crush her in my sleep," she confessed, "I've seen people use drawers like this as some sort of cradle and I'd feel better if she was in it."

"That's what this is for," he stated, lifting up the item he carried.

Vala spared Alora a look before going over to him. "What is it?" she asked curiously, taking the rectangle object.

"On Earth, we call it a playpen," he replied, "It's a portable crib of sorts, but you can use it for other things. Jack brought it with him and thought you could use it."

She gave the item a puzzled look. "How is this a crib?" she asked as she made it twist in her grasp.

Daniel chuckled and took it from her. "You have to set it up," he told her and proceeded to show her.

"Do you know what you're doing?" she asked skeptically, "I don't see you as the type to set up portable cribs often."

"I have once or twice," he answered, concentrating on the contraption, "and it can't be that hard if sleep deprived parents can do it."

"Oh, in that case, I can figure it out myself," she told him and moved to take over, "I'm sure you have things to attend to."

He laid a hand on her, stopping her, and she gave him a puzzled look. "I got it," he assured her.

She did nothing to remove her from his hand, but she still tried to protest. "Daniel, she's my daughter, my responsibility, you don't have to."

"But I want to," he murmured softly.

Vala sat back on her heels and watched him with a confused expression. "Why?"

Daniel spared her a glance but locked the sides of the playpen together before focusing on her. "Why not?" he shot back.

"I'm sorry," she said mockingly, "last I knew, you didn't like me," she said pointedly, "You all see me as a nuisance. If this is gratitude for destroying the Supergate, there's no need, and if it's to ensure Alora and I stay here, keeping Earth safe, you needn't bother either."

He was already shaking his head. "Vala, that's not it at all."

"Then what is it?" she demanded, "Last time I was here, you couldn't wait to get rid of me, so what's changed other than Alora?"

He winced at the reminder of his past behavior. "I'm sorry for treating you that way," he said sincerely, "and I am grateful for what you did with the Supergate and warning us about the invasion, but that's not why I'm helping."

"Then why?" she asked for what seemed like the hundredth time.

Daniel sighed. "Well, for one thing, your daughter has me completely wrapped around her finger," he responded and shrugged, "I'm fond of her and I wanna help."

"You haven't in the past."

He chuckled humorlessly. "Vala, you…you bring out the worst in me and I have no idea why," he told her, "but under all that bullshit you hide behind, I see a decent person, someone who could be so much more if you only tried. Based on our past experiences together, I didn't want to see and ignored it as did you. I never once saw you wanting to be better…until I found you in that shield generator room."

Vala frowned. "So I'm suddenly worth your time?"

Daniel groaned. "Why do you have to take everything I saw wrong?" he grumbled under his breath, "No, that's not it at all, but I can't help someone unless they want it and I think you do, you want better for Alora, and I want to help you with that. You've grown a lot since we last saw each other and everyone needs a helping hand every now and then. Everyone needs someone to believe in them and I want to be that person. So, let me help."

"I'm not some charity case," she declared firmly, "and I won't allow you to treat me like one, much less my daughter."

"You're not a charity case," he instantly denied firmly, "nor could you ever be."

"Then why do you suddenly want to help me?"

"Other than the reasons I just stated?" he remarked, "Because I want to be your friend…and friends help each other. Let me be your friend, Vala."

She didn't know if she could allow him to be.

Not long after she landed in the Ori galaxy, Vala realized just to what extent Daniel Jackson meant to her and it was more than she had felt since before she became a host. Try as she might, she couldn't make herself get rid of those feelings, not even when she was married to another man – a man whom she did love in a way, but he could never measure up against Daniel. She wasn't sure if anyone else ever could. This was made apparent to her when he had found her aboard that Ori ship and helped bring her daughter into the galaxy.

Being friends with him would only end in heartache for her because what she now felt went beyond friendship while it didn't for him.

But she always was a glutton for punishment. She would take what she could get, even if that was just friendship – it was better than nothing. She winced on the inside at her choice and how pathetic she was being, but she couldn't help it. He had been the first thing she had truly wanted since she was a child and he brought some much needed joy into her life and she didn't want to lose that. Besides, her daughter was already attached and knowledge or no knowledge, Vala didn't think that would disappear so easily.

So friends it is. "Okay," she responded quietly and tapped the playpen, "So friend, show me how to use this properly."

Daniel gave her a smile before going through step by step on how to assemble a playpen.